FRASER, Mich. – The Metro Jets, fresh off clinching their seventh straight division championship Saturday night in Toledo, didn’t take their foot off the gas Sunday at home, downing the Wooster Oilers 7-1 at Fraser Hockeyland.
After taking a 2-0 lead after one period on goals from Matt Cole and Ryan Messing, the Jets exploded for five in the second period of the sticks of Nick Cecarini, Cristian Adragna, Cole, Conner Graham and Stefan Frantti (pictured front).
Kyle Burke scored late in the period for Wooster, while the third period was scoreless.
“What we appreciated the most was our first 40 minutes,” Jets associate coach Jamie Lovell said. “Our guys played the right way, focused on good habits.”
Adragna added two assists for a multi-point game and Will Augustine finished with 16 saves in goal.
“The first couple period, we got hot, we snapping the puck around, getting pucks deep,” said Messing after playing in his 100th junior game. “Third period, we were kind of slow, but it didn’t matter because of our hot start. We were buzzing out there.”
Luke Bell made 40 saves in taking the defeat between the pipes for Wooster.
The Jets next head to Pittsburgh Tuesday and Wednesday to play the Rockets Hockey Club from the Alpha Ice Complex. Game times are 2 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. Wednesday.
“We’re preparing ourselves for playoff hockey,” Lovell said. “We want to prepare ourselves against better opponents. That’s what we’re going to do here coming up.”
In the Fraser nightcap Sunday, the Fort Wayne Spacemen scored late in the third period to tie the game and then collected the lone goal in the shootout to knock off the MJDP 4-3.
Tim Washburn (pictured below), Nick Twombley and Garrick Smith scored for the MJDP and Daniel Miscavish finished with 29 saves through 65 minutes.
Riley Pitchure, Larry Yellowknee and Noe Perez scored and Jordan Belley stopped 25 shots in goal before turning aside Kam Hellman, Max Hartwell and Herman Ahokas in the shootout.
Charles-Andre Cypihot scored in the second round of the shootout. Miscavish stopped attempts by Perez and Darick Louis-Jean.
“We were leading the whole game and we did a lot of great things,” said Lovell. “Just a couple mistakes at the end there and we let Fort Wayne back into the game. That’s too bad.”
The MJDP next hosts the Detroit Fighting Irish Wedbesday at 2 p.m. from Fraser Hockeyland.
All USPHL games are streamed live on HockeyTV.com.
